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Thread: Best clan for legendary campaign?

  1. #1

    Default Best clan for legendary campaign?

    So just out of curiosity, what's the easiest clan to play as in legendary mode? I heard Oda was good because of less upkeep for ashigaru armies.

  2. #2
    Lord Oda Nobunaga's Avatar 大信皇帝
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    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    I did that and my ashigaru kept getting destroyed by enemy samurai units so I had to quit.
    Then I tried as Chosokabe and it was pretty nice. I was fighting only on my terms since the island is relatively small and instead of ashigaru I opted to recruit samurai, I had time to do it since I was on an island very few even tried to attack me and disrupt my recruitment. But remember to research all farming technology first and build up your farms in your provinces so you have surplus and then build rice exchange if you so wish to get some money (but not too many rice exchange as that reduces your surplus).

    "Famous general without peer in any age, most superior in valor and inspired by the Way of Heaven; since the provinces are now subject to your will it is certain that you will increasingly mount in victory." - Ōgimachi-tennō

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    The Useless Member's Avatar Primicerius
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    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    Although I have never tried a legendary game, I'd imagine that, like what Oda said, the Chosokabe is one, if not the easiest. I'd imagine that the Shimazu would be a fairly easy clan as well due to their ability and isolated position.

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    Lord Oda Nobunaga's Avatar 大信皇帝
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    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    Also first thing you must do is conquer the island and then try to build up from there to invade pretty much any location you want.

    I also tried Shimazu and that was a bit more challenging since you have to fight lots of clans down there. If you try to steam roll the whole island you tend to encounter provinces with lots of Christians and the public order penalty from that tends to ruin your ability to wipe out enemies quickly.

    "Famous general without peer in any age, most superior in valor and inspired by the Way of Heaven; since the provinces are now subject to your will it is certain that you will increasingly mount in victory." - Ōgimachi-tennō

  5. #5

    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

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    Last edited by Aruberikku; July 31, 2023 at 05:20 AM.

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    Lord Oda Nobunaga's Avatar 大信皇帝
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    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?



    I hope this gets my point across.

    "Famous general without peer in any age, most superior in valor and inspired by the Way of Heaven; since the provinces are now subject to your will it is certain that you will increasingly mount in victory." - Ōgimachi-tennō

  7. #7

    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    start point is everything in legendary. kyshu the southwest island is absolutely the best starting location, once you take island you boom eco then for realm divide you have 1 frontline all the way to kyoto. also I heard your proximity to kyoto affects fame increase, so being far away is a huge benefit since you can take more territory before realm divide.

    so shimazu is definitely the easiest because all you need to do is make full armies of +armour katana samurai, there is no real counter that the AI can make anyway.

    otomo is also one of the easiest despite what people seem to think. tercos are katana samurai and matchlock samurai combined, and you get access to them decades before matchlock tech! also best ships, dominate trade. best sea and land units, best starting area. barely need any bushido tech, so can get all the good chi stuff including diplomacy/honor bonuses. the Christian thing matters so little

    chokosabe/date - both get good isolated/defendable starting areas and nice bonuses. date nodachi most devasting charge and mass rout in the game, chokosabe daiyku higher damage than any other bow

  8. #8
    DeMolay's Avatar Senator
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    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    Yes in the vanilla game , Shimazu and Otomo are potentially the easiest because as people said before , Kyushu is an island that is easy to defend with just a fleet blockading buzen's strait and you quickly get the monopoly of trade nodes which makes you rich earlier than with other clans , however Shimazu and Otomo first 20 turns aren't as easy as some other clans due to either low income , different religion/public order or fighting several clans at once .

    In my opinion , Oda (low upkeep for ashis , easier to become terrifying asap , access to rich provs early ) , Chosokabe (very easy to take over shikoku then pick a safe entry point in kyushu or honshu then push in one direction ) and Date (crush mogami , take miyagi and sado then push west , your northern provs are always very safe ) are the easiest overall , because the first 20-30 turns are the easiest which is when the AI has a chance to stall your campaign

    Afterwards the key is to prepare well Realm divide when playing with clans in a central position , research chi fully to get impressive growth , upgrade your farms and roads to the max and stick metsukes in your 5 best provs with guilds , then make a few vassals after RD to get some trade back . this said it's advised to play with mods that alter the realm divide mechanics to keep one or two allies which makes it more enjoyable/less cheap and doesn't ruin your past efforts in diplomacy completely
    Last edited by DeMolay; August 01, 2014 at 04:02 PM.

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    Count_Zuokula's Avatar Foederatus
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    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    Oda(since you can spam tons of ashigaru armies, you just outnumber everyone and steamroll. Kinda like Soviets did in WWII) and Otomo(terco heavy armies, sea dominace via nanban tradeships oh and trade nodes. Lots of trade nodes just sitting close to your starting position and waiting to be captured) were the easiest for me. If it wasn't for all the huge provinces, Date would've also been easy. 2-3 turns just to get to other province is not my kind of fun...

  10. #10

    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    Quote Originally Posted by jupsto View Post
    I heard your proximity to kyoto affects fame increase, so being far away is a huge benefit since you can take more territory before realm divide.
    Proximity to Kyoto doesn't effect your fame, taking provinces, heroic victories and a few others do.

    Oda is the easiest to get to realm divide, just spam cheap ashigarus, surround Kyoto taking it when your ready for RD. More difficult once at realm divide fighting on two fronts but the cheap ashigarus help to compensate for that as well.

  11. #11
    Samittaja's Avatar Libertus
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    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    I did beat the game with legendary Oda (vanilla). It took me somewhere around 10 tries

    Pro tip: learn the campaign map's mechanics and the AI's routines in the early game before trying the most difficult clan with the highest difficulty. Without tutorial. Even if you're a veteran of the series. My (way too) aggressive strategy and misunderstanding of the economy defeated me many times in the early game.

    After getting the hang of the mechanics, everything started to roll out nicely. It was never easy, constantly fighting on all the fronts, never having enough meatshields, money nor trustworthy allies (those backstabbing bastards...), but eventually I did it.

    I must say that the fight was hard and sometimes frustrating, but it is now one of my greatest game sessions in any game. The enemy AI is clearly the best in the series, and ~75% of the time I was fighting against a stronger enemy or coalition than I was = pacing is just brilliant.

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    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    Playing Oda on legendary is what I do to relax these days. It seems to me by far the easiest clan.

  13. #13

    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    I find the chosokobe the best but thats just my opinion

  14. #14
    Samittaja's Avatar Libertus
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    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    Quote Originally Posted by Grognir View Post
    Playing Oda on legendary is what I do to relax these days. It seems to me by far the easiest clan.
    I presume our strategies vary. I was constantly on offensive in order to destroy current enemies as fast as possible, so I can shorten the front. It led to a vicious cycle. Constant expansion made neighbours worry, leading into backstabs. New enemies force me to recruit more troops, which in turn leads into economic near-disaster. And since my economy is in bad shape, I don't have a great desire to turn new provinces into vassals, which would provide excellent protection in that particular direction but would diminish income. I was just barely able to expand faster than the enemies were able to conquer from my defenceless back.

    Lessons learned? Do have some small phases when you just defend your lands and develop them, without military expansions. Also, vassals help save one from terrible headaches.

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    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    You are correct about taking a break from aggressions, as there is a penalty for rapid expansion. But not to worry, as Oda you don't need to declare war on anyone, at least for many years.

    It seems perhaps that perhaps a patch or something has changed the strategy Oda's enemies use. What happens to me as Oda, invariably, is:

    1) I defeat the rebels as per the first mission.
    2) I then move all troops except the daimyo south near the coast, build 2 archers, destroy the spear dojo, set research for Todufuken and hit next turn.
    3) Tokugawa moves with his army near Oda capital. The southern army then takes his castle, and all Tokugawa troops disappear.
    4) Daimyo and the 2 archers move south to help the army garrison the former Tokugawa castle. Most of the time, not all the time, I can prevent a revolt.
    5) The daimyo and some troops move back to Oda's starting castle. Taxes are off in the new conquest, but if there's a revolt, it can be defended against pretty easily.
    6) Saito moves an army into Owari. Don't fight it, instead take Saito's castle, Saito's troops in Owari disappear.
    7) I build markets in all my 3 castles (actually, the Tokugawa castle should already have one). Get 3 metsukes.
    8) Once I have the metsukes, remove the markets to build sake dens. Get 3 ninjas. After todofuken researched, research school of shinobi. Keep building ashigaru.

    After that I research the first farm upgrade, or fire arrows, or heaven and earth. I never build samurai till much later in the game. Once I can build encampments I make the charge bonus encampment the 2nd building in the former Tokugawa castle and replace the sake den there with stables. Light cav is great, I never build samurai cav until much later if it all. I build a barracks in Owari. Saito's former castle stays a 1-slot town. The goal is a fortress in Owari w/Market, Yari dojo, and barracks, but only for building the long yari ashigaru, so I can build a couple for my attack stack to act as flank guards against enemy cav. I take over Imagawa's lands, and someone (Ikko Ikki, Hattori, or whoever owns Omi). When I take Omi I ensure the ninja mountain hideout is set to the 2+ ranks for Ninja path, and build up Omi w/sake den and armor encampment. Same with Iga. Once Omi is a fortress I build a market. Omni and Owari are your moneymakers.

    Then take a long research path to gun mastery, once that's achieved, you have enough to win long campaign or domination.

  16. #16

    Icon1 Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    I finally got around to completing a Legendary campaign. This time I went with FOTS. I had attempted this many times with the Sengoku Jidai campaign but withdrew the idea after a most shameful display. I eventually forgot about it due to procrastination and never attempted it again.

    As the Jozai, I first capture Shimosa and start building up slowly. I end up cornered by allied clans pretty quickly so I took my time. Typically, it's better to push south along the coast as a Kansai clan to maintain supply routes through the sea. This is much faster than trying to march troops across to provinces like Echigo or even Fukushima. Moving south as the Jozai requires breaking alliances, a rather nasty ordeal in the beginning. So in a rash move I manage to provoke a southern Clan in Totomi. Which I then took Totomi province from the sea and moved north to take South Shinano. My main stack gets swarmed by 3 stacks of Nagoya and subsequently destroyed. I reformed my army from scraps and lose all gains from this endeavor. Edo foolishly joins a war declaration by Matsumae, a far northern clan that can't touch me. This is precisely what I waited for. While Nagoya assaults Edo provinces from the south, despite being at war with my clan too, I take Mushashi as a huge prize. Odawara then joins a war declaration and I take the all important Sagami province. I spend some time upgrading provinces and end up with a decent army for once. I manage to keep the peace despite being stuck in a permanent war with Matsumae and Nagoya. They see weakness and get far too greedy.
    So I get swarmed at Sagami:
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    In a suicidal charge, Nagoya assaults Sagami Fortress with three and a half stacks of kachi, levies, and a somewhat decent general. It was nothing more than a light rain on the plains. What surprised me most was the foolishness, instead of going for any of my undefended provinces they tried to sweep the leg. Needless to say, I took very few losses and used up all my ammunition. After that I forced peace with Nagoya, who turned around and betrayed several turns later. By then I was already at war with Matsumae, one province of Odawara, Okazaki for a brief time, and a one province Utsunomiya. Utsunomiya were then destroyed by Aizu and rebelled. I managed to keep Aizu on my side for now. I beat back several landings in Kazusa and force Okazaki to accept terms and trade. I marched up to Echigo to try and force a peace with Matsumae but they refused to negotiate. So I just pushed their blockade out of my port while I prepared to take Izu. Then the Odawara were gone.

    I paused before taking Izu with one stack and pushing a stack south through North Shinano to take Kai. The Nagoya stacks just marched past me in confusion. I hadn't garrisoned the castle in Kai and instead left it undefended! Nagoya stacks tried to fly away by marching towards Musashi and were swiftly laid low as wheat under a hail storm. I ended up taking Etchu province and Noto. There were now three big clans with terrifying military and spectacular economy. And they were at war with the impoverished weak Jozai clan. Nagoya tried assaulting with double stacks of navies. Where one sided battles like this occurred as I put the torch to their wooden ships.
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    Then I decided to take a breath. More exactly, Nagoya started to garrison every castle with full stacks as did my neighbors. I had already hit Realm Divide. Even though I really desired to found a Legendary Republic, I stayed loyal to the Shogunate. I was surrounded by Shogunate clans so it was unhealthy in my opinion. As I started the process of accepting peace treaties from all my neighbors I noticed that the Aizu were still completely loyal. If a bit inept at keeping treaties and insisting on parking armies in my provinces during peaceful times. But we were all fighting for the same side now and really there was no need to continue fighting all my "allies" at once. I negotiated with Nagoya after a few turns to reconsider just carving them up. I already had more than enough loyal provinces. I just needed the two provinces for my own clan. I went through and started upgrading provinces for several years before finally sending my "iron cat" fleet south with well trained and heavily armed shogunate troops. I captured Bitchu and found it completely undeveloped. Then followed up with another stack to take Izumo.

    Taking these two particular provinces, which are several spaces apart, was mostly due to the weird collage of provinces that were already Shogunate owned when I arrived. I almost declared war on a friendly clan by mistake and had to struggle to find two Imperial provinces close to each other. As for the biggest southern clan that made a mess and captured random provinces? It was the Obama! Besides being long time Nagoya allies and joining the war against me for most of the latter half of the campaign. Then rarely sending anything significant north so that I could wipe out to negotiate a peace treaty. So for making this even more difficult that it should have been, thanks Obama.

  17. #17
    moshedz's Avatar Foederatus
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    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    One word: Oda

    You have a Katana Sam? We have Long Yari Walls.

  18. #18
    Christonikos's Avatar Centenarius
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    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    Chosokabe, Shimazu, Mori. Any of these clans as soon as you finish the opening turns, make a strong ally and most important grab all trade nodes. 10000+ koku out of nowhere is a guaranteed victory. I 'd put Otomo as well in the list, but the diplomacy penalty means you 'll get constantly attacked and invaded by random clans. Oh, and btw, play Domination victory. 20 provinces are better than 14 before Realm Divide.

    However if you just want to get the achievement, the fastest and easiest way for me was Fall of the Samurai Campaign. Play short campaign, rush the necessary provinces for realm divide, and then the game becomes 50-50. Half Japan allied, half hostile.

  19. #19

    Default Re: Best clan for legendary campaign?

    As Count_Zuokula said. Oda with their ashigaru horde is easiest clan for legendary, maybe Chosokabe due to the safe island.<br>I finished Oda, Hattori and Shimazu on legendary. Shimazu as Christian clan. From these 3 clans, Hattori was most challenging since their early expensive units and endless Ikko Ikki armies are simply annoying.<br><br>I have tried Uesugi, Tokugawa and Date. For these 3 other runs...<br>Date: I underestimated my economy as I rushed and lost it. But I have to say, I am not a fan of Date and the gameplay was not exactly what I enjoy (Huge provinces, long travelling, Nodachi is not my favourite unit) but whatever.<br><br>Tokugawa: I managed to survive against Hattori samurai armies, Ikko Ikki and even Imagawa and Takeda armies. Realm Divide however send me pretty much to hell as Uesugi started to strike my other backyard. As I kept losing my provinces, economy got really limited and very simply I couldnīt keep both, army and food supplies. Resulting in monk armies in East, Christians in West and rebels within my lands.<br><br>Uesugi: I couldnīt handle Takeda at all... I tried it 3 times, but Kai is like freaking Mordor... Those endless attacks and huge armies were simply too much for me.<br><br>Now I am considering Hojo. I will live on walls with my bomb squads. Hope I will dominate it

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